Violence in Mexico’s Guerrero state has escalated to the point that even the national army fears crossing its life-threatening routes.

With plenty of poppy fields, the area is the center of the country’s illegal production of opium. And because the heroin business is booming, it’s also become a battleground between gun-toting gangs fighting for control.

The drug cartel war has made Guerrero the deadliest region in Mexico, where the number of homicides each month has never been higher. It’s also forced residents to form their own community police forces, to protect themselves.